Over three funding rounds £291million has been invested in regional museums through Renaissance. This has led to an increase in visitors to regional museums, a major increase in educational use, much improved community engagement, a higher profile for museums and an increased confidence and empowerment of regional museum leaders.
It has increased the ability for museum staff to build networks and frameworks for improved regional partnerships and infrastructures and to lever in external funding. Renaissance has been a success that has rejuvenated and strengthened England’s regional museums.
MLA has put forward a vision for a New Renaissance which builds on the effectiveness of the programme to date and on the work of the Renaissance Review and the subsequent Leading Museums and Renaissance Future paper. It responds to new economic and social challenges and drives the continued transformation of regional cultural services through creating place-based funding partnerships that can match local demand, strive for excellence and reinforce professional capabilities.
Vision and Objectives
The vision for New Renaissance is to use national funding to unlock the potential of the very best regional museums to reach wider audiences, securing the collections.
New Renaissance is at the heart of the government’s programme for museums. Via partnerships with other funders, especially local authorities, and cultural agencies including national museums, it interlocks with strategies for tourism, digital development, ‘big society’ and localism.
The objectives are to create national-quality museums in locations across England; to enable regional museums to fulfil their potential to bring enjoyment, learning and enrichment to benefit England’s people; and to stimulate investment that adds value, contributes to wealth-creation and helps create great places for people to live.
To read the Renaissance Review, the Leading Museums and Renaissance Futures paper or the New Renaissance paper, click on the relevant links below:
Renaissance Review (PDF - 791Kb)
Leading Museums and Renaissance Futures (PDF - 72Kb)
New Renaissance (PDF - 43Kb)